Delavan woman, 92, drives into Madison Avenue building

By Kim McDarison 

A 92-year-old woman from Delavan was cited Sunday for operating without a license after driving her vehicle into the front of a store, according to information released by the Fort Atkinson Police Department. 

Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump said the incident occurred around 1:30 p.m.

The woman, who was not injured, said she had entered the parking lot of a strip mall at 1642 Madison Ave. to shop at a store. As she was parking, she mistakenly hit the car’s accelerator instead of the brake, Bump said. 

The car, a Chevrolet Impala, came to rest partially inside X-TremeSmoke, which was not the store in which the driver was intending to shop, Bump said the woman noted. 

Bump described damage to the storefront as “some structural” and all of the store’s front windows were broken. 

Before coming to a stop, Bump said, the car entered the building to about midway on the vehicle’s chassis. 

While he was not aware if the store had customers inside when the car struck the building, he said, given that the incident occurred during business hours in the afternoon, his assumption would be that the building was “open and occupied.” 

He described damage to the car as “moderate.” 

The vehicle was towed from the scene by Butch’s High Lite 24-Hour Towing in Fort Atkinson. 

Bump said agencies responding to the scene included the Fort Atkinson Police Department and the Fort Atkinson Fire Department. 

“When we have a structure involved we have dual response with the police and fire departments,” Bump said, adding that the fire department is responsible for inspecting the extent of the damage and assessing the integrity of the building. 

According to the Fort Atkinson Police Department’s daily police blotter, two ambulance services — the Fort Atkinson Fire Department and Ryan Brothers — were paged to the scene. 

“Fortunately, no one was injured,” Bump said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were determined to be involved